


Tulips and Tattoos

by TrashFoot



Category: Ghost Adventures (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop & Tattoo Parlor, M/M, Slow Burn, if it weren't for those meddling kids, these two may never have gotten into a relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-24 03:09:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14946482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrashFoot/pseuds/TrashFoot
Summary: Inspired by the classic tale of Nick owning/working at a flower shop, right across the street is the tattoo shop that Zak works at. Zak’s got a crush, and his co-workers decide to give him a hand.It's got a few curse words, but tbh not enough for any warnings.Edited by the lovely Jane (ghxstadvxntxres on tumblr).





	1. Introductions (Part 1)

_Huh?_ He thought as movement in the corner of Zak’s eye caught his attention. He looked up from his phone out the main window of the narrow tattoo parlor to whatever was moving across the street. _Oh, him. The cutie of Infinity Flowers._ Zak tried not to smile at the sight, but a smirk still spread across his lips. The shop’s been there, across the street, since December when it replaced the Hot Dog Shop— or was it the Hot Dog Hut? He’s seen the man across the street, with his long green apron covering his pleated tan pants and cerulean polo shirt, since its grand opening. He usually ended up catching sight of him leaving his store around 6:00, the end of his day, the point where Zak began counting down the three hours it took until the tattoo parlor closed. Zak would see him whilst waiting for the next client to come in— if he wasn’t in back working on one already. With spring just beginning to touch the city of Las Vegas, the flower shop owner had decided that today was the day to begin setting up flower stands outside of his shop. With that, Zak couldn’t keep his eyes off him as he dragged the stand pieces around, bending and lifting...

“Um, excuse me?” Zak’s eyes snapped to the blonde stranger suddenly standing at his side. How did he not notice her come in? “Hi,” she smiled, “Sorry I’m a few minutes late; I’m here for my 4:00 cover up appointment.” Zak stood up, sliding his phone into his pocket.

“Ah— Alright. I’ll get you set up!” He said as happily as he could.

*********

“Thank you again!” The young woman said as she walked out the door. Zak was not only happy that the young lady was happy, but that it was an easy enough fix. Tacking on the words ‘Me and -by McGee’ to the name Bob in script lettering only took a little more than an hour, including the immediate aftercare. Plus, she now had the excuse of being a big Janis Joplin fan. As he watched her leave the store, some more movement caught his eye yet again. It only took a few seconds of time to see the man across the street come out of his business, this time apron-less, lock the door and begin his walk to where he had to go, but that was enough for Zak to fix his eyes on him and smirk yet again.

“What are you smiling about now, Bagans? Thinking of another me-me you saw?” Evan asked.

“N-no.” Zak replied, snapping out of it. “And uh, it’s meme.” He corrected the pronunciation awkwardly. _God, isn’t it the job of a 17 year old high school brat to correct their 30 year old teacher on that, and not a 30 year old man to his 50 year old boss?_

“Oh, whatever. I guess I’m not so up to date with the kids’ terminology these days.” Evan Lyndon owns Empire Ink & Piercings. As the fluorescent light shined off of his bald head, along with the stance he was standing in right now as his arms crossed over each other, he reminded Zak of a tattoo-clad Terry Crews— if Terry Crews was about 5 inches shorter, covered in tattoos, and had a slight beer gut. Yesterday was his daughter’s college-graduation-slash-engagement party, and it appeared he was still in a good enough mood. “Anyways, I wanna get started on a little bit of spring cleaning around here, but it looks like I forgot to bring in my broom from home. Would you mind going across the street to that flower place and asking Kerenza for one?”

“Why can’t you do it?” _Oh my God, what did I just say? I asked it innocently enough. Maybe he won’t get mad..._ The look on Evan’s face suggested otherwise.

“I’ve gotta stick around and look over the books.” His voice was tense, and Zak knew where this could go in a heartbeat.

“Okay, I’ll just— y’know.” Zak gestured, shuffling out of the building awkwardly. The jog across the street wasn’t all that daunting, until he approached the building and finally saw it up close. Nervousness swept through him as he forced himself to pull open the door. Upon entering he was greeted with the smells of hydrangea, roses of all colors, slightly-off-white lilies, and plenty of other flowers he couldn’t identify.

“Hi! How are you?” Zak’s observation was interrupted by a cheery young woman behind the counter with fluffy brown curls that formed a shoulder length A-frame cut, donning an old blue apron that covered her yellow-green t-shirt. “Can I help you with anything?”

“Uh, hi. I’m just... looking for a broom. I’m from the tattoo shop across the street.” The woman seemed to recognize him quickly, as he approached the counter and leaned himself against it.

“Oh you must be Chase!” Zak chuckled at this.

“Uh, actually that’s one of my co-workers.”

“Well, you’re definitely not Linsey.” She looked him up and down jokingly, making Zak chuckle again.

“No. I’m Zak.” She let out a big laugh.

“I’m sorry about that! I’m Kerenza.”

“Oh, so you’re Kerenza! Evan talks about you all the time. I can’t believe I’ve been working there for 2 years and never had the chance to meet you. Congrats on graduating, by the way— and the engagement, too. It’s a real big time in your life.”

“Thanks!” She beamed. “Yeah, it is. Now let me get you that broom.” After disappearing into the doorway behind her, Zak was left to take in more of the shop. _Not a bad place. Nice and bright._ He thought approvingly. 

“Alright, here you go!” She said, a pale blue plastic broom with matching dustpan attached in hand. “My boss wants it back by 6, though.”

“Oh, that’s fine. I’m sure we’ll have it back by then. Evan wants to do some ‘spring cleaning,’ but honestly there’s not a whole lot of cleaning that really needs to be done around there.”

“Ugh, he’s already getting into spring cleaning mode?!” She asked unbelievably.

“Yeah.” Zak giggled.

“I’ll be praying for you guys.”

“Thanks— we’re gonna need it.”

“Hey, Kerenza, what happened to those seed packets?—” a man popped into the doorway behind her. Suddenly, Zak’s heart leapt into his throat and his mouth went dry. _He’s so much more attractive up close._ “Oh, sorry! I didn’t realize we had a customer. I’ll leave you to it—”

“N-no— I was—” Zak gestured to the door. “I’ll— Bye.” He said, walking with broom in hand, tripping over his foot on his way out the door. Once he walked out onto the sidewalk, it took all his might not to start hitting himself right then and there. _God, what was that?! I’m so fucking dumb!_ In the time it took to cross the street, Zak had to wipe the deep blush from his face— or at least pretend he did— whilst berating himself for suddenly losing all that confidence he normally has. As he entered Empire Ink  & Piercings, he prayed he wouldn’t be interrogated by Evan, Chase, and Linsey.


	2. Introductions (Part 2)

To what would usually be Zak’s near pleasure, the client he was going to work on didn’t show up, leaving him some free time. Although he wouldn’t get paid, he’d at least get a break. This time around, he was the one sent out to get some sort of dinner for the Empire Ink crew. He didn’t travel far from the shop, walking around the corner to his favorite deli with a list in hand, which read:

Linsey- Grilled Chicken, Mozzarella, Roasted Peppers, and Mixed Greens wrap  
Chase- BLT on a roll  
Evan- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad  
Me- Beef Burger

As soon as Zak got back and placed the food on the front counter, Evan came out of the empty back-most tattooing room, broom in hand.  
“Hey, Bagans! You’re finally back!” _Okay... he seems happy to see me._ “I hate to make you feel like an intern running errands, but would you mind bringing this back over to Kerenza?” _There it is._

“Sure.” As much as he’d hate to do it after embarrassing himself so bad not even an hour earlier, Zak wasn’t up to get Evan mad, especially after the good mood he was in for nearly 48 hours now. Jogging back and forth across the street was more exercise than he planned on getting on his day off from the gym, but at least it also gave him an excuse to keep an eye on his motorcycle and see if the police decided to give him another unnecessary ticket. Pulling open the door and having it ring a little bell, his eyes darted to the green and white counter as he looked for Kerenza. His face dropped when he saw that she wasn’t there.

“Hello?” The attractive man from earlier poked his head out from the doorway. “Oh, hi.” Seeing the man’s smile light up his face made Zak’s hands shake a little as he approached the counter.

“H-hi, I—”

“Hey! You’re the same guy from earlier! I didn’t catch your name.”

“Uh, I’m Zak.”

“Nick.” He replied, sticking out his hand. “You’re from the tattoo place?” Zak shook his hand and nodded his head yes. As Zak released his hand from the shake, he could tell how sweaty his own palms were and quickly wiped them on the side of his pant leg. “Kerenza was telling me about you guys. I never would’ve guessed her dad worked over there.”

“O-oh yeah, Evan? Yeah, he’s uh, he can be a little stricter. But I can see where he’s coming from... sometimes.” Zak let out a breathy laugh, more-so in an attempt to calm his nerves. He was grateful when Nick smiled along with him. _That smile..._

“I’m sure I get like that too, just ask Kerenza. You know, I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo myself.” Finally, an easy topic Zak could focus on instead of losing himself in Nick’s facial features.

“Really? You got anything in mind?”

“Yeah, actually.” He rolled up his short sleeve, revealing his left shoulder. “I was thinking of some sort of memorial tattoo for my sister. She died about a year and a half ago and I wanted to get something— like a pink carnation or maybe a statice, with her name, birth and death year underneath.”

“How big? Like that?” Zak spread his index finger and thumb as far apart as they could in the center of his shoulder, gaining confidence by treating this more like a consult rather than an excuse to flirt with Nick and touch the lean muscles of his arm.

“Yeah. Maybe a little bigger...” Nick suggested as he placed his spread out fingers next to his. Zak’s eyes moved from the space on Nick’s shoulder to his eyes, noting how the coloring reminded of the cinnamon sticks he’d always see at the counter of the local bakery he likes to visit. Zak lost track have how long he’d been staring at him— _they’d_ been staring at _each other_ — when suddenly the door behind them opened. Zak turned on his heel to face who was coming in, awkward and embarrassed.

“Hey, Zak,” Linsey said, stopping in the doorway appearing to be taken aback by the moment. Linsey is a muscled, tomboyish-looking woman with long blonde hair wrapped up in a high ponytail, with a tendency to wear shirts that show off her half-arm sleeve tattoo. “Um, sorry for interrupting, but Zak? There’s a customer looking for you. He says he forgot about his appointment and that’s why he’s so late.”

“Ugh, why is today full of people being late?” He went to walk out when Linsey interrupted him again.

“Bringing that broom back with ya?”

“Oh! Man, I completely forgot. Sorry.” He laughed in embarrassment as he handed Nick the broom. He knew the blush on his face wasn’t going away now.

“No worries. I’ll see you around?”

“Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure.” Zak responded, smiling as he said it.

“C’mon, let’s go.” Linsey insisted.

*********

“...and when I walked in, they were just staring at each other, like looking deep into each other’s eyes.” Linsey spoke to Chase quietly.

“Hey, what are you two whispering about?” Zak asked knowingly, leaning up against the edge of the front room from the hall, and interrupting what was obviously supposed to be Linsey and Chase’s private conversation.

“Nothing!” Chase replied a little too loud and too sudden. Chase was the newest hire to the crew, after the last guy moved onto a place with better pay. With Chase’s nice jawline, great fashion sense, and beautiful eyelashes, Zak and Linsey both suspected his last job was as a model, but Chase wouldn’t admit to it and Evan wouldn’t tell them. As Zak stepped into the room, Chase pulled his phone out of his pocket. “Ugh, 8:45. I spent literally 5 hours coloring in the tat on that guy’s back, and I’m barely half way through. I’m gonna go ask Evan if I can leave early.”

“Okay.” Zak and Linsey replied in unison, as their co-worker got up and walked himself to their boss’s office. Zak took this opportunity to steal his co-worker’s spot on the couch.

“So, how was your last customer?” Linsey asked him.

“He was a real douche. He was going on and on about how ‘vile’ and ‘disgusting’ all sorts of LGBT people are ‘cause he saw Chase and immediately assumed he was gay. Meanwhile I had to sit there and hold my tongue.”

“Yeah, who would’ve thought between the two of you, Chase would be the straight one and you’d be the gay one.” Zak rolled his eyes and let out an angry sigh.

“Bi.”

“What was that?”

“For the last time Linsey, I’m bi.”

“Eh, same thing.”

“No, it’s _not_ —” Zak could hear how loud his voice was getting already, and took in a breath in order to keep from getting too worked up. “You know what? Just forget it. I’m gonna go get my stuff,” Zak said as he got off the couch, “and then I’m going home.”

“Are you gonna stop by and see more of your crush from across the street?” This made Zak stop dead in his tracks.

“My what?” Zak asked, turning to face her.

“Oh you know, your crush. Or, are you two just friends?” By this point, Linsey was wearing a devilish grin. This made Zak blush furiously.

“We are _not_ — I just— I just met him today, Linsey! I— I gotta go.” As Zak stomped out of the room to go get his things, he heard her laugh to herself.


	3. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The only chapter not in Zak's POV, and it's short. Kerenza, Linsey, and Chase get together and create a plan.

“Okay, so we find out the guy’s address, we order a bunch of flowers from him, and we send them all to his house and tell him Zak did it!” Chase exclaimed with excitement. Linsey brushed it off.

“Nah, too rom-com-y...”

“Well what’s wrong with rom-coms?” Chase asked.

“Nothing it’s just—”

“—You hate them?”

“I actually love them! But are we living in a rom-com?”

“I wish...” Kerenza giggled. “Well, I know Nick has been talking more and more about getting a tattoo recently. How about we just have Zak give him a tattoo?”

“I like that, but it seems too easy. Plus, how do we know they’ll admit their feelings to each other?”

“Wait— do we even know if Nick is gay?” Kerenza answered Chase’s question quickly.

“Oh, yeah. He is. And he _needs_ to get laid. He’s gotten stricter ever since his break up with his last boyfriend, and he is _not_ one for one night stands.”

“And why do you know all this?” Linsey asked.

“Girl,” Kerenza said with a flick of her wrist, “I’ve been working there since freshman year. We talk.”

“Okay...” Chase said uncomfortably. “Anyways, plan. We need a plan.”

“Right, plan. Umm... got it.” Linsey said with a snap of her fingers. “We say we’re all going out to dinner together, inviting those two, Evan, everyone— but we all end up bailing out for one reason or another. And wallah! They end up on a date in a 5 star restaurant in their own private room full of beautiful flowers— roses! Lots and lots of roses!” It was obvious that Linsey was getting excited about such a romantic date.

“You know,” Kerenza began, “roses aren’t the only ‘I love you’ flowers out there. There’s Gardenia, Tulips, Ranunculus... the list goes on. Also, the amount of roses is important. Oh! And the color too.”

“Seems simple enough.” Chase interrupted before Kerenza could go on. “Can I be in charge of picking the restaurant?”

“Yeah, sure, why not? Kerenza and I can cover the flowers in, and in the end, things will come together on their own!”

“Perfect!” Kerenza exclaimed.


	4. The Push Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens after Zak's co-workers make their plan.

The next day, Zak pulled his motorcycle into the closest parking spot he could find. Removing his helmet and fixing his hair some, he noticed movement across the street. He watched the door to Infinity Flowers open and saw his two co-workers exit, laughing. As they looked forward, they spotted Zak and Chase raised a hand in greeting with a big smile plastered on his face. Zak mirrored his greeting as his friends lazily jogged over to him.

“Hey, Zak, just the man we were looking for.” Linsey said.

“Hey,” Zak said squinting the sunlight out of his eyes, “what were you guys doing over there?”

“Oh... just having lunch with Kerenza before work.” Chase explained. Zak couldn’t put his finger on it, but something about what Chase had said, or how he’d said it, made Zak feel like there was more going on than what he was telling him. “Hey, are you ready for today?” Chase asked, obviously trying to change the subject as he opened the door to Empire Ink & Piercings for his co-workers.

“Yeah, I guess. I just hope it wasn’t as crazy as yesterday.”

“I’m hoping I’ll be able to finish coloring that guy in today.” Chase said, practically throwing himself onto the faux leather front room couch.

“My day is looking like almost all piercings.” Linsey mentioned as she sat herself behind the front counter. Zak responded with a small “Mm,” and stood before the hallway that lead to the rest of the building. A beat of comfortable silence before Zak spoke up.

“So... how’s Kerenza?” This made Linsey chuckle smugly. “What?” Linsey shook her head at her friend.

“Kerenza is fine and so is Nick.” This made Zak’s face warm up.

“I wasn’t even—! Linsey! Come on.” Zak’s wide smile showed his embarrassment.

“Hey, I’m not the one with the crush here.”

“Ha! I knew it!” Chase shouted, pointing his finger at Zak.

“Oh my god.” Zak said, placing his face in his hands. “Is it that obvious?”

“Nah,” Chase said with a smile, “not really. Actually, Linsey told me. But there were one or two times where I did see you staring off into space in that direction when he was conveniently outside.”

“Hey you know what would be a good idea? Go over there and strike up a conversation with Kerenza.” Linsey suggested.

“Now why would I talk to Kerenza?”

“To catch a glimpse of your little boyfriend.”

“God, no. That sounds so childish.”

“Come on, Zak. Please? For me?” Linsey gave her best babydoll eyes.

“If not for her, then do it for me.” Chase added in.

“No Chase, not you too.” Zak groaned.

“Alright that’s it.” Linsey said, grabbing Zak’s arm and hauling him over to the door, “You’re doing it. Come on, let’s go.”

“But Evan—,” Zak fought.

“We’ll take care of Evan. You go have your fun.” Chase told him. Zak let out another groan and forced himself to jog over to the flower shop. He entered the shop and went right up to the counter, and got a finger held up to him by Kerenza who was busy finishing up a phone call. _Thank God, I get time to figure out what to say._

“Alright, thank you. Have a nice day, sir. Bye now.” And with a click, his thinking time was up. “Hey Zak, what’s up? Need to borrow the broom again?”

“Uh, no. I...” Zak laughed nervously, “I actually don’t know what I’m doing here. Chase and Linsey practically pushed me over here.” This made her giggle.

“Why? Are they up to no good?”

“Yeah, to say the least.”

“Hey, Kerenza!” Nick shouted from behind the door. “I got a job for you.” He jogged out with a slip of paper in hand. “We got an order for a graduation bouquet. The customers will be coming to pick it up in an hour. Hey, Zak.” Nick added, taking a millisecond to smile at him before running off behind the door again. Zak could only stand there with a dumb look on his face as the scene played fast in front of him.

“Well, that’s that. I guess you’ve got an excuse to go back. I gotta get this done quick.”

“A-alright. I’ll see ya.” Zak walked out quietly.

“So, how’d it go, Casanova?” Linsey asked as soon as Zak set foot in the door. Linsey’s phone alerted her to a text message before he could even reply.

“That was so close to being a bad idea. I got to see him for a second before he ran off. I didn’t even get to say hi.”

“Aw, don’t worry man. Things’ll play out. Trust me.” Linsey told him with a knowing look, before looking back at her phone to respond.


	5. Reservations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chase and Linsey's plan starts to go awry...

Coming in a few minutes late, Zak had passed by Chase, who was sitting on the couch drawing in his sketchbook, and Linsey who was checking something on her phone at the front desk. He gave a quick hi to them both as he quickly made his way down the hall, looking down the left side of the hall and seeking out the middle room where he most frequently worked. Before he had a chance to enter the room and begin getting himself together, he walked past Evan’s office door on his right, and something stopped him suddenly.

“Hey, you guys?” Zak called out.

“Yeah?” Linsey called out from the front room.

“Are you guys smelling this?”

“Smelling what?” Chase walked over to where Zak was standing.

“Here, smell. What does it smell like? Like... like perfume or something?” Chase shrugged his shoulders and made an ‘I don’t know’ sound.

“I guess.” Chase replied. “Maybe it’s ghosts?” Zak’s nose wrinkled at the thought. As an amateur ghost hunter, he’d heard of smells of cologne and perfume being a sign of a haunting.

“You guess what?” Linsey ambled over, rubbing Purell all over her hands.

“That this place may finally have a ghost. We’re smelling perfume.” As Chase raised his eyebrows and lifted his chin, Linsey returned a look of skepticism.

“Ghosts? Yeah right. Evan’s wife probably just left or something.”

“Well,” Chase said, “whether it’s ghosts or Evan’s wife, it still smells good. Or it did. God, I hate the smell of Purell, it’s too strong.”

“Yeah, I hear ya.” Zak said as he continued on his way to his room.

**********

That afternoon, after covering up a little tattoo dedicated for an ex on a client, Zak sat in his tattooing room doing some practice drawing for a tattoo a client wants to get in the not-too-distant future. Unable to concentrate on what he wanted to do because he could hear Linsey and Chase chatting away through the thin walls, he was just about to put his earbuds in when something in their chatting caught his attention. As he pressed his ear up to the wall for a better listen, he shook his head at himself. _Nah, I shouldn’t..._

“Linsey, I gotta tell you something.” He heard Chase admit painfully. _You know, I have been working hard today, I think I deserve a break..._

“What is it?” Linsey asked.

“Okay, so, my part of the plan got a little messed up...”

“How messed up?” Her voice raised with angry concern.

“Well... La Fleur Tatouée is a popular place, and I did make the reservation for the first 7:00 opening they had... three and a half months from now.” He spoke quickly.

“Oh my God, Chase, _really?!_ ”

“Sorry! You said ‘make a reservation,’ so I made a reservation!”

“Well,” Linsey started, sounding calmer, “Kerenza and I already have the flowers set up in Evan’s office, so we better come up with something quick.”

“Oh, so that’s what that smell was!”


	6. Surprise Clientele

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zak gets a surprise client.

“What I’m not understanding is how all those flowers ended up in _my_ room while I was out getting you guys dinner.” Zak told Chase.

“Oh, so it’s _your_ room, huh?” Evan butted in, grabbing some information from the front counter and walking through to get to his office. “Last time I checked, _your_ room is located in _my_ tattoo parlor.”

“That’s not— I-I—” Zak’s words came too late. Evan had already closed his office door. “Chase, do you know why they’re in there?” Zak made it obvious that he wasn’t in the best mood.

“C’mon Zak, it’s for Evan’s birthday party!”

“His birthday isn’t for another 3 months.” Zak dead-panned.

“Yeah, well, it’s a surprise party, alright? Now get in there! Your client should be coming any second now.”

“Wha— why are you—?” Zak couldn’t get a word in edgewise as he was shoved into his room. “Wait— my _client_?! What client?!” He yelled into the hall at the back of Chase’s head. “I thought I didn’t have a client scheduled til 7!”

“It’s your client Zak, you heard me. And I’m covering your 7, cuz this one might take the rest of the night.” With Zak still peering out of the doorway, he was able to see who it was coming through door. “Ah, speak of the devil.” Zak’s mouth quickly went dry.

“Hi! Nick, right?” Chase greeted the man.

“Hi, yep!”

“Okay! Right this way Nick. Your tattoo will be done by our loveliest tattoo artist: Mr. Zak Bagans.” Zak blushed lightly at the compliment. As the two made their way towards him, Zak quickly wiped the small amount of sweat already forming on his hands onto his pants.

“Hi.” Zak greeted him bashfully as he shook his hand. Zak wasn’t used to seeing Nick out of a brighter polo shirt and tan pleated pants. In fact, casually dressed Nick dressed more like Zak did: a black shirt with a small skull in the right corner with rays of white light coming from it, and black khaki pants that looked a size and a half too big.

“Hey, nice to see you again.”

“You can take a seat right there, i-if you want.” Zak told him, pointing to the tattoo chair in the middle of the room. _Dammit. If you want? Really?_ “Sorry about all the flowers, by the way.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m used to it.” He said with a chuckle. “What, somebody got a crush or something?”

“What?”

“Yeah, all these vases with Gardenia, Tulips, Ranunculus... They’re all usually given by people who have a crush on somebody else— or are their secret admirers. Even that vase with the half-a-dozen roses shows off infatuation.” Zak stood over his desk, opening up and going through the pages of his sketchbook like he was looking for something, as an attempt to hide the fierce blush that was making his face burn. He suddenly knew why those flowers were there, and why Chase and Linsey have been acting the way they have been lately.

“Really?” Zak asked in an attempt to sound normal. _I am going to kill those guys for this..._ “Now,” Zak said changing topics as he turned to face Nick, still red-faced and empty-handed, “uh, I don’t usually do this without a little bit of practice sketching first, but from what I remember, you wanted a memorial tattoo with the years and a flower?”

“Yep,” He said, looking up at Zak with warm brown eyes that nearly made Zak’s knees buckle, “either a pink carnation or maybe a Statice, probably just the Carnation though.”

“Well, since you’re still debating the flower part, I can just do the years for now. Plus, it’ll give me a chance to practice the flower later.”

“Yeah, okay.” Nick gave a nervous laugh.

“Now, what years am I doing?” Zak asked, grabbing his sketchbook and a pencil off his desk.

“Uh, 1978-2017.”

“Alright...” he scribbled the numbers down, did some quick outlining borders around them, and finished off the quick sketch with a daisy look-alike flower coming out of the numbers. “Now, this is what I was thinking of for it. I know that’s not the best flower ever but I can always do better...” Zak said chuckling. Nick laughed a little harder at the drawing, maybe too hard, as Zak took in his radiant smile. As Nick’s laughter died down, Zak’s eyes flicked over to Nick’s, feeling a quick spark jolt his body. As soon as Zak felt that jolt, Nick looked downward, a light blush coming to his cheeks as he licked his lips. “Now, uh... is there anything you wanna add in or change?” Looking back up and meeting Zak’s eyes again, Nick responded.

“Um, yeah. Maybe take out the border around the years. And is it okay to add in her name?”

“Sure. What was it?” Zak asked softly.

“Diane.” After a moment as he erased the border and added in the name below the years, Zak showed Nick the changes.

“That good?”

“Perfect.”

“Alright, let’s get started.” Zak said reaching for his box of latex gloves and a clean razor.

“Wait, how bad is this gonna hurt? Cuz I’ve heard it hurts.”

“Eh, it's not so much that it _hurts_ , it’s more like... a lot of annoying little cat scratches.”

“Oh... okay.”

“Alright, you ready?” Zak asked with an attempt at a comforting grin, sterile razor in hand. Nick answered with a yes, quickly and awkwardly pushing up his left sleeve.

***********

“You okay? You wanna stop?” Zak asked, stopping the tattoo gun in the middle of the year 2017 after noticing a strange look on Nick’s face. Nick tried to explain what he was feeling away.

“Just a little nauseous. It happens around mealtimes sometimes. I just need a little—” his lip started to quiver, and he took in a breath as his eyes began to water, “—a little snack,” his breath hitched and he put a closed fist to his mouth, “or something.”

“You need a bag or a bucket or something?” Zak asks, looking throughout the room, past all the flowers for the garbage can. He finally found it sitting next to his motorcycle helmet.

“No, I’ll be fine. I haven’t thrown up yet.”

“This may sound crazy, but do you think you still could be grieving?”

“What?” Nick asked unbelievably. “No, she died a year and a—” breath hitch, “—a half ago, I can’t still be _grieving_.”

“Really? ‘Cause I was just like this after my aunt died. Nausea, dizziness, everything. We were so close and I took it so hard, and at the time I was still a teenager and my parents sent me off to therapy.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. I remember my therapist saying that the grieving process doesn’t have a limit, and that it can take a long time to process all the emotions.” Nick looked at him, halfway in pain, half in disbelief. Suddenly, tears began escaping Nick’s eyes, and Zak could feel his own heart break at the sight. Zak could only look away awkwardly as Nick wiped away the tears, not wanting him to feel any more uncomfortable than he was.

“Sorry.” Nick said. “I, I don’t know where this is coming from.” Zak ripped off a paper towel and handed it to him.

“No, don’t worry, you gotta let it out.” Silence fell between them as Nick continued to wipe away his tears. “I know we... don’t really know each other, but i-if you want, I could uh... come with you to therapy— to a therapist. I mean— if you want.” Zak awkwardly offered. “I-I know it helps to have support.”

“Thank you. That would mean a lot.” Nick replied softly. “Sorry again for like, crying all over the place.” He added with a chuckle as one last tear escaped.

“Oh don’t worry, plenty of people have cried in here, so you’re not alone. We can continue when you’re ready.”


	7. McDonald's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter, where they go on... somewhat of a date. It's short, sorry :/

Stuffing fries into his mouth, Zak was grateful for this food. It showed, as Nick laughed before taking a bite of his burger.

“What are you laughing at?” Zak asked jokingly with his mouth still full.

“Nothing,” Nick said, still chuckling after he swallowed. “You just seem hungry.”

“Mm,” Zak stuck some more fries into his mouth, “I’m starving.”

“Yeah, this stuff really hits the spot.” The two finished their fast food in silence. Crumpling up his burger wrapper as he finished, Nick broke the silence. “Thanks again for coming with me today.”

“Oh yeah,” Zak said, focusing more on licking the excess salt off his fingers than the man across the table from him, “it’s no problem.” When he did finally look at him, Zak noticed the way Nick was biting his bottom lip and blushing lightly as he looked down, refusing to reciprocate eye contact. _What? Is he really blushing?_ This thought made his heart skip a beat. Zak decided to play with this some more, pretending there was salt on his other fingers. Starting off with his index finger, Nick lifted his head up only to catch that sight. As Zak moved onto his thumb, he looked Nick in the eye with some seduction. This resulted in Nick blushing even harder and letting out a small laugh as he looked back down at the table. Zak laughed softly himself.

“You know...” Nick started, laughing nervously, “ah, at the beginning of the uh, the session, the—the therapist asked me about you, and... who you were, what our relationship was like. I told her the truth... that I’ve got a, uh,” Nick rubbed the back of his neck, “crush on you.” Nick’s nervous admission made Zak laugh softly again, as his own cheeks warmed up. Nick’s eyes shot up at him when he laughed, revealing some fear.

“I’m just— I’m actually surprised, ‘cause I’ve been crushing on you for months now, and actually my coworkers found out. I’m pretty sure that’s why there were all those flowers when you came by to get tattooed.” This made Nick giggle and roll his eyes.

“Ugh, of course.” A beat of silence occurred between them. “Well, now what?”

“Well,” Zak started, “I’ve got the day off, so, if you want we can go back to my place? Maybe watch a movie or something?”

“Yeah sure.” Nick said with a big grin spread across his face.


End file.
